When Your Past Catches Up With You
by WWWLover
Summary: No matter what you do. No matter where you go. Your past will always catch up with you. Depending on your past depends on whether that's good or bad. And, once you figure that out, interesting things start happening! Please R and R! Rated T, just in case!
1. And So It Begins

"When Your Past Catches Up With You"

Based on: "The Magnificent Seven" TV Series

&

Ezra Standish was sitting in the saloon of Four Corners, also known as the Standish Tavern, having some drinks. Business had been slow in Four Corners lately. Nothing was happening. There was no danger to the town. It had actually been pretty boring.

So, he looked up almost excitedly when he saw Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington came into the saloon with serious expressions on their faces.

"Something wrong, gentlemen?" Ezra asked, gulping down another shot of whiskey

"We need to go to Rock Falls" Chris replied "Judge Travis needs our help"

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked, again

"Apparently, there's a prisoner that's about to be put on trial" Buck replied "The prisoner supposedly beat up one of the people in town for no good reason."

"You can get arrested for that?" Ezra said

"And possibly hanged" Chris replied "That's the rule of Rock Falls"

"The Judge said that the people of Rock Falls want to go straight to hanging, even though the 'victim' is going to be fine" Buck said "It's a lot like when Nathan's father was put on trial"

"Well, shall we go, gentlemen?" Ezra said, grabbing his hat and leaving the saloon. Chris and Buck followed.

&

Rock Falls wasn't too far away from Four Corners. It only took the Seven a good hour to get there. When they got there, the whole town was in an uproar.

"Man!" JD Dunne said "It's just like we were having déjà vu!"

"You did say that the victim was going to make it, right?" Nathan Jackson asked

Chris nodded. "The telegram said that the victim made a full recovery"

"This doesn't make any sense" Josiah Sanchez said "Why would they want to hang this person if the victim was going to make it?"

"Let's get a little closer and find out" Vin Tanner said

As the Seven got closer, they were able to get a better look at the prisoner.

"I can tell you why" Buck said, as his mouth dropped open in shock "Because the prisoner is a teenage girl"

&

"You think you can get away with this?!" exclaimed Kyle Larson, brother of the victim of the non-fatal beating "You think you're better than us?!"

"Hold your tongue, Larson!" Judge Oren Travis yelled

"It doesn't matter!" Kyle yelled back "No teenage girl is going to get away with beating up my brother!"

The girl was wearing black pants, a white button down shirt, black boots, and a black vest. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail at the base of her head and her dark brown eyes were full of rage.

Kyle glared at the girl being held back by two of the men of the town. She just glared back from underneath the brim of her black hat.

"Got anything to say for yourself?" Kyle asked

The girl took in a deep breath. "I don't have to answer to a piece of crap like you!"

"That's it!" Kyle yelled "Hang her!"

"Under what grounds?!" Judge Travis yelled back "As far as I can tell, she is free to go! She had to do what she did!"

Kyle motioned for the two men holding the girl to grab the judge and hold him back as he made his way towards the girl. All heads turned when they heard horses riding into town.

The girl's eyes widened in shock, especially when she saw one of the men who was riding into town. "Aw! Shit!"

She turned to the pole, which was holding the roof of the courthouse up, next to her and started to climb it, knowing that she would be killed if she tried to escape through the crowd.

"Hey!" Kyle yelled "Get back here!"

The girl climbed on top of the roof of the courthouse and ran across it, but not before drawing the attention of the Seven.

"What the hell is she doing?" Buck exclaimed, amazed by this girl, but also scared that she would hurt herself "She's going to get herself killed!"

The girl stopped right above what must have been her horse. The crowd had begun to follow her. The girl shot a quick glance at the Seven, immediately catching the attention of Ezra. The Seven watched as a sly smile spread across her face, as if she knew one of them and was doing what she was about to do to make them mad. She moved her right foot so it dangled over the edge of the roof, as if she was taunting someone.

"No!" Ezra yelled, surprising the rest of the Seven

Then, as the smile on her face became bigger by Ezra's reaction, she jumped down from the ledge and onto her horse, automatically grabbing the reins and riding out of town. The Seven tried to follow but the crowd was getting in the way.

"Follow her!" Judge Travis yelled to the Seven "She's an innocent girl! We can't let her get away! They'll kill her!"

"Josiah, Nathan" Chris said "Get the judge back to Four Corners!"

Josiah and Nathan nodded and rode off to get the judge. It was then that the rest of the Seven noticed Ezra's dumbstruck expression.

"Something wrong, Ezra?" Vin asked

Ezra didn't say anything.

"Ezra!" Buck said, pushing his shoulder "Ezra, what's wrong?"

"My daughter" Ezra said, softly

"What?" JD said, as they started to ride, still having the girl in their sight

"My daughter" Ezra repeated, as they left Rock Falls "That's my daughter"

* * *

**_So, this is the beginning of the re-working of my M7 intro story. This story is going to be much more interesting than the others, I promise!!_**

**_I hope that you like it!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!! _**


	2. A Trip Down Memory Lane

Ashley Standish could feel the cool breeze against her face as she rode into the woods. She didn't know if anyone was following her, but she just kept on riding. She didn't want to take any chances.

She couldn't believe that _he_ had shown up. She hadn't seen him in years. She, honestly, wasn't expecting to see him again. Not since the heated words they said to each other at the funeral.

She quickly looked back to see if the men were still following her. Though she couldn't see them, she knew that they couldn't be too far behind. She knew that one of them could track anything. She knew that the tracker probably knew all kinds of shortcuts.

She had heard a lot about the "Magnificent Seven" of Four Corners. Those men were the celebrities of the West. How she didn't know that _he_ was one of them, she would never be able to figure out. She usually knew everything, and not just because of her gift.

Ashley Standish noticed _everything_. She would notice the smallest details and would be able to remember everything she saw. She was one of the gifted few people that had a photographic memory. Once she saw something, she would never forget it.

Just then, a shot rang through the air. Ashley automatically ducked as her horse sped up out of fear.

"Damn it!" Ashley yelled

She quickly pulled her gun out of its holster and shot in the general area where the other shot had come from. Not even looking to see if anyone was there, Ashley continued to ride on.

&

"Be careful, JD!" Buck yelled "You just scared her off! And, you could have gotten shot yourself!"

"I didn't mean to!" JD replied "It slipped!"

"JD! If you do that again, I swear…!" Ezra said, quickly walking up to JD

"Ezra, calm down!" Chris said, stopping the gambler from strangling JD "It was an accident and she wasn't hurt"

Ezra glared at JD for a moment and then looked away.

"You want to tell us about her?" Vin asked, softly

Ezra smiled a small smile. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything you think might be helpful" Chris replied

"Hmm…let's see" Ezra said, trying not to break down into tears. "Her name is Ashley. Ashley Marie. She's 17 years old now. She was born when I was 16, on July 22. Her mother and I were married when she was born, but we had only been married for a short amount of time…"

Ezra paused for a moment. The rest knew that this was hard on him.

"When Ashley was about 14, my wife died" he continued "At her funeral, Ashley and I got into a fight. That was the last I saw of her"

"What do you mean?" JD asked "What happened?"

"Just before my wife died, I got into some trouble." Ezra explained "Big enough trouble that I had to get out of town. Originally, Ashley was to stay with my wife in Pike's Creek, where we lived, until I could come back and then together, as a family, we would build our lives again. But, when my wife died, that plan changed. Ashley couldn't go with me. It was too dangerous for her. So, I was planning on sending her to a boarding school in Boston until it was safe for us to be together again."

"She didn't like that idea very much" Ezra said, almost with a chuckle "She wanted to come. She said that she could handle herself if anything happened. But, she was only 14. I just…couldn't let her come with me. So, after the funeral, she automatically went home. I stayed back, saying my last goodbyes to my wife. When I got back to my home, she was gone."

"I looked for her for days" Ezra said, tears rolling down his cheeks "The Sheriff and Deputies of Pike's Creek even helped with the search. After about a week, we just assumed that she was dead."

Ezra looked up into the eyes of his friends. "This is the first time I've seen her in 3 years"

Chris walked up to the gambler and put his hand on his shoulder. "We're going to get her back" he said "We're going to get her back and take these charges off of her. The judge said that she was innocent, that she had no choice but to beat up that man. We're going to protect her"

Ezra nodded. "Thanks, Chris"

&

River Larson paced back and forth across the living room of the house he shared with his brother. He was waiting for the word that Ashley Standish was dead.

He looked up when Kyle burst into the house. "Is she dead?"

Kyle shook his head. "She got away"

"What?!" exclaimed River "How?!"

"She's resourceful" Kyle said, with a shrug "But, don't worry. We'll find her"

"Kyle! She knows!" River said "Why else do you think I tried to rob her so she would beat me up and get in trouble? She knows that we…"

"Shut up!" Kyle yelled "Do you want anyone to hear you?!"

"Kyle, she saw the box" River said "I don't know how. But she saw it"

"How do you know?" Kyle asked "Would she even recognize it?"

"She's Ashley Standish for God's sake!" River said "She knows everything!"

"If she knew, why didn't she do anything?" Kyle shot back "Why didn't she do something?"

"She's probably not positive yet" River replied "She's probably looking for more evidence before she makes an accusation!"

"What more evidence could she possibly need?" Kyle asked "The box would give it away! Why didn't you hide it better?"

"I thought it was hidden well" River replied "I figured that no one would even be near the well behind our house"

"Well, never underestimate Ashley Standish" Kyle said.

He walked over to his brother. "Don't worry" he said "She's as good as dead!"

* * *

**_Here's a new chapter!!_**

**_I hope that you like it!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!!_**


	3. The Long Awaited Reunion

Josiah and Nathan were shocked when Judge Travis told them that the prisoner was named Ashley Standish. They couldn't believe it. Could she be related to Ezra?

Then, when the rest of the Seven, minus Chris and Vin, came back into town after losing Ashley's trail and confirmed the fact that Ashley was related to Ezra and that she was Ezra's daughter, Nathan and Josiah knew that this was going to be difficult.

Mary Travis, the editor of the Clarion newspaper, had offered to put signs up around the town, with Ashley's description on them, so if anyone saw her they would bring her in. But, Ezra wouldn't hear of it. If his daughter wasn't a criminal, she wasn't going to be treated like one.

Ezra made it a point not to let this recent turn of events disrupt his everyday life. Sure, it might seem coldhearted, but he was trying to stay as calm as possible.

The rest of the Seven weren't really sure how to handle this situation. If Chris and Vin did end up finding Ashley and bringing her back to town, what would happen then? What would Ezra do?

So, the rest of the Seven tried to follow Ezra's example, making sure not to bring up Ashley unless absolutely necessary.

&

It was just about sunset. Chris and Vin were thinking about setting up camp when they saw smoke in the distance.

"Could that be her?" Chris asked, turning to Vin

"It's possible" Vin replied "Best we head over there on foot. She might not hear us that way"

Chris and Vin got off of their horses and tied them to a nearby bush. Then, they quietly made their way over towards the smoke.

Sure enough, they saw Ashley sitting in front of the fire.

"What now, Chris?" Vin whispered, while they were still out of earshot

"I'm not sure" Chris replied "We don't want to scare her…"

"It will be a sad day when I'm scared of men like you" they heard a voice say

Vin and Chris turned around to see Ashley standing in front of her camp with a gun trained on Vin and Chris. Vin and Chris slowly raised their hands.

"Why would I be scared of the protectors of the West?" Ashley asked, trying not to sound too mean, since these men never did anything to her

"Ashley, listen" Vin said, catching Ashley off guard when he used her name "All we're doing is bringing you back to town so the judge can lift these charges off of you"

"I'm not going back"

"Why?" Chris demanded

"If I do, I'll be killed" Ashley replied "River Larson holds a lot of power in Rock Falls. If he wants someone dead, they're dead"

"But you're innocent" Vin said "You didn't do anything"

"Try telling that to River" Ashley replied

"We'll protect you" Chris said "We'll make sure that nothing happens to you"

"And bring me to my father in the process?" Ashley said "No thanks!"

Chris and Vin were starting to feel bad for Ashley. She was trying as hard as possible to be nice to them, but they could tell that she was getting annoyed, not to mention the fact that someone wanted her dead.

"Now, go on back to town" Ashley said "Forget that you even saw me!"

She paused for a moment.

"Or, better yet" Ashley said "Tell them that I'm already dead. That way, I won't have to keep running"

"And put your father through that torment again?" Chris said, remembering the pain of losing his wife and son "I don't think so"

Chris quickly grabbed the gun out of Ashley's hand, catching her off guard. Ashley tried to fight back, but, as strong as she was, she wasn't stronger than Chris.

Chris took some rope that he had in his saddle bag and used it to tie Ashley's hands behind her back.

"I thought you said that I was innocent?" Ashley said, as Chris led her to her horse "Why are you tying me up?"

"So you can't get away" Chris replied, with a small smile

Ashley resisted a small smile as she got onto her horse. Chris took the reins and led Ashley's horse to his own horse. He got onto his horse and waited for Vin to do the same.

"Come on" Vin said "We should make it back to town by nightfall"

&

Ezra and the rest of the Seven were in the Standish Tavern playing a game of cards when they heard horses coming into town.

"Ezra!" Mary said, running into the saloon "Ezra! You have to come outside! It's your daughter!"

"They found her?" Ezra said, immediately getting up from the table

Mary nodded. "Chris and Vin just brought her into town"

Ezra practically bolted out of the saloon, with the rest close behind. His mouth dropped open when he saw her - getting a good look at her for the first time in 3 years.

"My god!" JD said, coming up behind Ezra "She's…"

"Beautiful" Josiah finished for JD

"Just like her mother" Ezra added.

The rest of the Seven and Mary watched as Ezra ran towards Chris, Vin, and his daughter.

"Things are definitely going to change around here" JD said

"That's for sure" Buck agreed "Hopefully for the better"

&

Ashley groaned when she saw Ezra running towards her.

"I don't have to do this, you know" she said, as Chris untied her "I could just run again"

"It would be good if you did, Ashley" Vin said "It's never good to hold grudges"

"Especially with your own father" Chris said

Ashley just nodded. She heard Ezra stop behind her. She didn't move. She watched as Chris and Vin walked away.

"A-Ashley?" Ezra said, in a shaky voice

"Hi, Dad" Ashley said, still not looking at her father "You look well. Same as I remember"

"I wish I could say the same for you" Ezra said "But I would be lying…"

He noticed Ashley tense up and quickly continued. "I mean, you've become so beautiful"

Ashley relaxed. "Thanks, Dad"

"Come on, Ash" Ezra said, trying to smile "Turn around. Let me take a close-up look at you"

When Ashley didn't respond, Ezra gulped, trying not to cry.

"Listen, darling" he said "I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I thought that sending you away until it was safe was the best thing for you"

Ashley let out a deep breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "I…I just couldn't bear the thought of losing both of my parents"

Ezra was taken a back. "What?"

"Mom dies and then you announce that you have to leave" Ashley said "It was just too much"

"Then why did you run away?"

"I thought that you didn't want me" Ashley confessed "Childish, I know. But, I thought that you were sending me away because you didn't want to have to take care of me"

"Ashley, I would never do that" Ezra said, taking another step closer to his daughter "It's just that…it was too dangerous for you"

There was a pause.

"Ashley, I love you more than anything else in the world" Ezra said "When I thought that you were dead, I couldn't bear it. I thought that there was no reason for me to live anymore"

Ezra watched as Ashley finally turned towards him. He was taken aback by how beautiful his daughter actually was.

"Really?" Ashley asked, trying not to cry

"Yes" Ezra nodded

Ashley hugged her father for the first time in 3 years. Ezra hugged back, tears rolling down his cheeks.

**_Here's a new chapter!!_**

**_I hope that you like it!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!!_**


	4. Secret Witness

The next day, after some much needed rest, Ashley went out into town, determined to meet the rest of the "Magnificent Seven", though she didn't really know what the rest of them looked like or where they would be.

Fortunately, she ran into JD in the process.

JD was shocked by the beauty of the girl standing in front of him. She was gorgeous, to say the least. Not like any girl JD had ever seen before…well…except Casey, of course.

"Hi" he said, after literally bumping into Ashley "You're Ezra's daughter, right?"

"Guilty as charged" she replied, with a breathtaking smile "I'm Ashley Standish. You are…?"

"JD Dunne" he replied "I'm one of Ezra's friends"

"Oh!" Ashley said "You're one of the Seven?"

JD nodded proudly "That I am"

"I was just about to go and introduce myself" Ashley said "Can you help me? I don't know what anyone looks like"

JD shrugged. "Sure" he said "But, why doesn't Ezra help you?"

"I think he's still asleep" Ashley said "I didn't want to wake him"

"Oh" JD replied "Well, then, let's go!"

&&&&&

Judge Travis was more than happy to absolve Ashley of the charges against her. He knew that Ashley was innocent; he had known that all along. River Larson hadn't come up with any condemning evidence, just mere talk. So, the day after Ashley arrived in Four Corners, he had a private meeting with her, to get her side of the story, and then, once his suspicions were confirmed, took the charges off of her.

Ashley's first week in Four Corners seemed to go by quickly. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she had found a new family.

Ashley was able to make unbreakable bonds with the rest of the Seven and her father's other friends – Mary Travis and her son Billy, Inez Recillos, and Casey Wells – very quickly.

"Ash, tell us what happened the night that River Larson was beaten" Chris said, about a week after he and Vin had brought Ashley into town and after Ashley was absolved of the charges against her

"I was walking home from town" Ashley replied "I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and I stopped. Then, all of a sudden, River rushed at me. He was trying to take my money"

"Were you hurt?" Ezra asked

"No" Ashley replied "But, I did hurt him"

"Is there a reason why River would want to steal from you?" Nathan asked

"No" Ashley said, shaking her head "He's one of the richest people in Rock Falls. He and his brother, Kyle, have a ton of money"

She paused for a moment.

"I think this has something to do with something that happened a few nights before the beating" Ashley said "Something that I ended up finding"

"What was it?" JD asked

Ashley paused for a moment, looking at Ezra. "It was something of my mother's"

Ezra stiffened as his eyes went wide. "Your mother's?"

"Can we tell them?" Ashley asked "About how Mom was…?"

Ezra thought for a moment, nodded, and looked away, not able to look at his friends anymore. Ashley took in a deep breath.

"My mother didn't just die" she said "She was murdered during a robbery"

The rest of the Seven gasped. Ashley noticed that Chris looked particularly angry. She knew why, of course. She knew everything about what happened after the Seven came to be.

"I found my mother's jewelry box" Ashley said "It was hidden in a well behind the Larson Ranch. The jewelry was gone, of course. That's probably why the Larson's are so rich. After finding this evidence, I think that River and Kyle were the ones who killed my mother"

"Why didn't the Larson Brothers get rid of the box?" Vin asked

Ashley shrugged. "They're not the smartest people you'll ever meet"

"So, you think that River was trying to get you in trouble so that you'd be killed?" Chris asked

Ashley nodded. "I think that they know what I saw"

"We have to tell the judge" JD said "We have to get them behind bars!"

"We need more evidence" Buck said "Before we go to the judge, we have to try and get that box out of the well!"

"Why, if they know that Ashley knows about the box, wouldn't they have gotten rid of it by now?" Nathan asked "It makes no sense to keep it now"

"If they did try to get rid of it, they probably buried it somewhere" Ashley said. She turned to Ezra. "It was the one Mom won at the fair. The metal one"

Ezra nodded, looking up at his friends again. "So, burying it would be the only way to destroy it, if they moved it from the well"

Ashley nodded. "Exactly"

Ashley paused for a moment. "I need to tell you all something" she said "Something I've never told anyone before"

"You ok, Ashley?" Josiah asked, noticing the worried look on Ashley's face

Ashley nodded. "You know about the robbery…?"

"Yeah" Chris said, with a nod

"But, you don't know about the witness to the robbery and murder"

"Who is it?" Ezra asked "Do you know who it is?"

Ashley nodded.

"Tell us!" JD said "We need to know"

"Me"

There was a pause.

"What?" Ezra asked, not sure if he heard correctly

"The witness is me" Ashley said, trying not to cry "I witnessed my mother's murder"

**_Here's a new chapter for you!!_**

**_I hope that you like it!!_**

**_Please Read and Review!!_**


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